Tag Archives: Terps

I guess this Turgeon guy can recruit. Shaquille Cleare (class of 2012), a 6’10 285 lb center out of Texas, has committed to the University of Maryland. Cleare, a four-star recruit ranked as the 12th best center in the country by Scout.com, is a coup for the Terps. Turgeon began to recruit Cleare when he was still coaching at Texas A&M and it was assumed Cleare would stay in-state. Lucky for the Terps, he didn’t. This kid could be a game-changer for a program with only eight kids currently under scholarship. With a 2012 lineup (possibly) of Nick Faust, Terrel Stoglin, P’Shon Howard, and Shaquille Cleare, the Terps could again be a force in the ACC sooner rather than later.

All players who played in the D.C. and Baltimore areas who chose to not attend the University of Maryland less than 20 miles away. Why not stay local?

Since the Terps won the championship in 2002, they have been mostly mired in mediocrity. Neverthless, most thought a big name coach would take over when Gary Williams retired this past spring. Yet the Terps were left with Mark Turgeon after bigger names such as Arizona’s Sean Miller spurned them. Why? The Terps have won a championship in the past decade, are in the ACC, and are surrounded by two areas known for producing incredible basketball talent. Why is this not a more prestigious job? Why aren’t the Terps annual contenders for an NCAA title?

News broke a couple Fridays ago that Maryland head coach Gary Williams would be opting to retire, ending a 42 year coaching career, the last 22 of which spent as the head coach at his alma mater. At age 66, you figured Gary didn’t have a ton of years left in him, but this was still a bit of a surprise to most Terp fans. Williams’ slightly abrupt retirement coupled with the fact that Maryland tried to make a fairly quick hire–he retired on a Friday and Mark Turgeon’s hire was announced on a Monday night–have seemed to overshadow a significant legacy left behind.

Let’s pause and examine.

The Numbers

Gary’s .637 career winning percentage in a head coaching career spanning 33 years speaks for itself. He ended his career as third all-time in ACC head coaching wins and the winningest coach in Maryland history. Add a national championship, a couple of Final Four appearances and ACC Coach of the Year awards, three ACC regular season titles, and an ACC tournament title, and that sounds like a Hall of Fame career to me. The ACC was always kind of like playing in the AL East with Duke and North Carolina being like the Red Sox and Yankees, making his numbers all the more impressive and possibly all the more underrated.

The Legacy

After his first year at the helm, Williams and the Maryland program were penalized for major violations that occurred before Gary took over. Besides taking away scholarships for years to follow, the NCAA also banned the Terps from postseason play for two years and took them off live TV for one. Despite being saddled with limitations that would set some programs back a decade or more, Gary had his team back in the Sweet 16 in four years. He would build the Maryland program into a national contender for years to come.

Williams was known for his intensity on the sidelines. There was rarely a game where he didn’t sweat through his suit jacket, and he could often be seen in with his back turned to the bench in a tirade. But, his players always responded to him. Gary was always known for winning without superstars. Walt Williams, Joe Smith, Steve Francis, and Juan Dixon probably rank as the top four players he ever had in some order. Certainly not bad, but in 22 years as the Maryland head coach with as much success as he had in a conference like the ACC, you might expect some more star power. Of course, that can be seen in two ways. On one hand, it makes his resume that much more impressive, especially given that two of those four players I just mentioned only played in College Park for one year. On the other hand, it begs the question of why he couldn’t get more big-time players to come to campus.

Some, probably most, Maryland fans would tell you that Williams intentionally avoided the All-American type guys because of his resistance to associate with AAU coaches. Still, some others have rumbled that Williams was not the most aggressive recruiter, especially after winning his first championship. This became a more common gripe in the years after the departures of key recruiting guys like Jimmy Patsos and Dave Dickerson. In reality, the truth probably lies somewhere in between. In any case, it proves how good Williams was when he was on the sidelines. Williams undoubtedly coached with a chip on his shoulder and his best teams always mirrored that trait. That chip on his shoulder might have played a part in his famously contentious relationship with Debbie Yow, but with Yow moving onto NC State and Williams continuing at his alma mater and now retiring there, I think it is obvious who won that battle. Williams has always been beloved by fans, and maybe more importantly (depending on your perspective) the boosters.

Williams can say all he wants about it just being the right time in his life to call it quits, and I am sure there are many elements of truth to that–he is 66 years old, after all, and has been doing this for over two-thirds of his life. However, you can’t tell me that this decision didn’t have a whole lot to do with Jordan Williams’ announcement that he would be declaring for the draft officially and hiring an agent earlier in the week. The Terps would have been a very interesting team to watch next year had (Jordan) Williams returned, and I’d bet my house that Gary would have come back for one more year had Jordan returned to school. If you look at his best teams, his flex offense has always run the smoothest when he’s had a great big man. The timing of his decision was certainly no coincidence.

The Future

I wouldn’t cry for Gary quite yet. After notifying the Terp faithful of his plans to retire, Williams was given a cushy Special Assistant to the Athletic Director job in Maryland’s athletic program. Basically, Williams will be called in for spot duty but mostly be getting paid to play golf. Not bad.

Williams, however, was very much a part of the decision-making process when it came to making a new hire. Gary will absolutely be a significant voice in all things Maryland basketball in the future years.

Maryland will undoubtedly miss the steward of its basketball program, but early reports seem to indicate that they are in very good hands with Mark Turgeon. Not only has he had a track record of success, which Hughes profiles here, but he has the stamp of approval of the man that will go down as the greatest coach in Maryland history of any sport.

Like this:

Maryland jumped into a couple interesting headlines today. Some good news. Some bad.

Let’s start with the good news: it seems like there might be a good reason to hope for a renewal of the Georgetown-Maryland rivalry. The article covers most of the history, this is huge for the beltway area. There is simply no reason these teams should not play every year. I think a big reason is that Georgetown doesn’t play on their own campus. There has been a rumor that the game hasn’t been scheduled for so long because of issues with what would constitute a home game. Think about it. Georgetown plays in the Verizon Center, an NBA arena, where Maryland fans are going to be able to be a presence. Whatever the reason, it’s a game that could be a nationally televised most years, so there should be some financial incentive as well, and one that makes too much sense not to play.

Now…the bad news for Maryland fans. First-Team All-ACC performer Jordan Williams is officially not going to be on the team next year, as he has hired an agent and is staying in the NBA Draft. The Maryland blogger seems to argue that this year gives him a better chance to go in the first round than next, and, but I’m not sure if I agree with that. I see the logic that with some key players staying in school this year, he would presumably move up the boards. But, I truly think Williams could be a lottery pick next year if he stayed in school. Reports are that Williams is already shedding some weight in workouts and is starting to get more attention from scouts, but imagine what kind of player he could be in the ACC next year with that same work ethic over the summer. I truly think that Williams is maybe ten pounds away from absolutely dominating the college game. And with the surefire lockout coming up? Jordan flew under the radar this year. Next year, he wouldn’t.